Indian board fuming after WI pullout

BCCI may scrap their tour of the West Indies in 2016 following the Caribbean team's pullout midway through series.

18 Oct 2014 10:22 GMT

The pullout comes following a pay dispute between the players and the board [REUTERS]

India may scrap their tour of West Indies in 2016 after the Caribbean team's abrupt pullout on Friday, said an angry Indian cricket board (BCCI) which is also considering legal actions and seeking intervention of the game's world governing body.

The tourists abandoned the series with another one-dayer, a Twenty20 international and three Test matches left to play over a protracted payment dispute between the players and their board.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said it had been left with no choice but to abandon the tour of India, an action that angered the world's richest cricket body, who swiftly roped in Sri Lanka as replacements to play a five-match ODI series next month.

"It will be very difficult to play West Indies in bilateral series in future. They have to demonstrate the willingness that such situations never happen again," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told Reuters on Saturday.

"I would say that India's next tour of West Indies is highly unlikely to go ahead in the current situation. Whatever the dispute, they should have honoured the bilateral agreement."

The WICB said it had spoken to team management and been informed that "the players have taken a decision to withdraw their services for the remainder of the tour of India".